“You’re all set?” she asked one last time.
“Yep, I’m good. I’ll call you when I get there.”
Beth nodded as she flashed me a big fake smile. “This is going to be great for you, Ben. We’ll be there for graduation. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be just fine. Right, Jon?”
Jonathan shrugged, but his frown, his folded arms, and his eyes told me he wasn’t buying it. At fourteen, he became a tall, lanky, hormonal teenager. That’s all he was, a teenager, a kid who was still far from being a man. My heart squeezed painfully from the guilt I had over leaving him. So many times I almost canceled my flight, called the Academy, and retracted my application. So many times Beth talked me out of it.
“I could stay here. I could be a great cop, right here.”
“No.” She held my arms, turning me slightly so I could look down at her face. “Ben, you need to do this. Jonathan will understand that once he is older. Until then, he has an aunt who will spoil the hell out of him.” She looked at Jon and asked, “Tell him. You’re playing us to get that new game system you’ve been asking for. Just like he did to get that damn dog.”
A slow smile spreads across his face.
“See?” she said. “We’re good. This little stinker knows I’ll be driving him right to Best Buy.”
“You call me every day, okay?” I instructed him. “If I can’t talk, I’ll call you back when I can. I need you to take care of Aunt Beth and Buster.”
“I will. I promise. When you become a cop, can you drive me around in your cop car?”
“Sure, dude. I’ll even let you hit the siren.”
He swung his arms around my torso, gripping me tightly. “I’ll miss you, Ben.”
“I know, dude. Me, too.” I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat as best I could.
Beth reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Come on, Jon. We have a Play Station to go buy.”
They walked away, Jon turned back every few seconds to give me another wave. Watching them intensified the pain in my heart.
There was only one thing I could do. Follow my plans, become a cop, and avenge my family’s misfortune by causing Politto’s demise.
All I wanted was to cause Politto’s demise. I shake my head at the irony. Not being a religious man, I feel hypocritical to be suddenly praying so much, especially since my prayers are for God to take that fucker’s life once and for all.
“Hey,” Rob says as he enters the room, looking no better than I do. Andrea follows closely behind.
“Hey, guys.”
Andrea sits beside me, taking my hand. She knows it all, every bit of it. Rob sat her down and told her everything. She understood why we couldn’t tell her sooner. Even now, she shouldn’t know details, but Rob didn’t give a fuck. She deserved to know about her best friend.
“Why haven’t you changed? I brought you clean clothes yesterday.” When I shrug, she adds, “You look awful.”
“Thanks.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No.”
“I should ask when have you eaten last?”
“Can’t remember.” I scrub my hand over my face. Exhaustion is no longer what I feel. That ended days ago. It’s been replaced with a void.
“It’s all over the news. Every channel. I can’t stand watching it anymore.”
I know Andrea is trying to help, but she’s not helping. To avoid hurting her feelings, I just nod in agreement.
She looks around the room. “This is nicer than the last one.”
“Yeah.”
She squeezes the hand that she’s still holding. “I’m sorry. You probably want me to shut up. I just…” She sighs before adding, “I miss her so much. And I don’t know how to help you.”
I smile ruefully and give her hand a returning squeeze. “Barbie, your job is to take care of Ken. He’s looking pretty bad these days.”
We both look at Rob, and he flips me off. She laughs at her fiancé before hugging me tightly. “You’re looking pretty bad yourself. I’m used to having two studs in my life.”
“I’ll schedule an appointment at the salon tomorrow.”
“Shut up,” she swats at my chest. “Do you want me to go get something for you? Anything?”
“Yeah, a real cup of coffee would be great.”
“Okay. I saw a Starbucks a block away. I’ll be back.”
After a hug for me and a chaste kiss for Rob, she leaves us alone. Rob stays silent. That’s the difference between men and women. We know words aren’t always the solution. Sometimes silence is required. This is one of those times.
“Officer Stone?”
Her voice wakes me from a dreamless sleep. I immediately straighten in the uncomfortable chair. Aches wrack my body, both inside and out. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t ache.
“Yes,” I acknowledge, running a hand through my hair in an attempt to look presentable. I’m not sure why I’m bothering. The days of growth on my chin, my dirty T-shirt, and the dark circles under my eyes give me away.
“He’ll be in to see you in a few minutes.”
“Thank you.”
A few minutes are actually a few seconds when he enters the room immediately after she exits. “Officer Stone.”
“Yes.”
“She’s stable.”
All the air in my lungs comes out in a whoosh. “She’s okay? She’s going to be okay?”
“She’s going to live. We still don’t know if she’ll gain use of her leg. It’s not going to be easy on her. But, yes, the clot has been treated, and her blood levels are back to normal.”
“How did this happen?”
“She’s had three surgeries in three days in two hospitals in two different states. Besides the stress that alone could cause,deep vein thrombosis is very common in surgeries of the thigh or calf. Normally, the patient would be given a thrombolytic to thin their blood in order to avoid possible clotting. Recipients of blood transfusions, and in Ms…Um, Ms. Parker’s case, she was not a qualified candidate because the effects would cause further complications to her organs, forcing them to work harder when they are already compromised.”
“When can I see her?”
“She’s in recovery. As soon as she’s back in her room, a nurse will come get you.”
“Thank you.”
He nods, leaving me alone to resume my praying. It’s been one thing after another. She came out of yet another surgery for her leg, and she crashed while in recovery from a clot.
After Farley’s press conference detailing the Politto situation, Gabriella Volante was officially put to rest. Ella was then airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center and admitted as Ella Parker. Her surgeon is the only person here who knows her true identity, and he was forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
I know that Farley keeps telling me it’s over. Gabriella Volante is dead and buried with a death certificate and a grave marker to prove it. Ella is safe and will never have to worry about her true identity. I also know Farley says that Politto will not see the light of day. If he recovers, he will spend the rest of his days in solitary confinement. I know Farley says Frank and Smyth will also be locked away…and I desperately want to believe him.
“Officer Stone, you can see her now.”
I follow the nurse to her room in Critical Care. Every time I go in there, I still can’t get used to seeing her that way. She looks so small in her bed. It’s been three days. It’s been an eternity to not be able to look into her gorgeous eyes, or hear her beautiful voice. I so desperately want her to sit up and argue with me. To tell me that I’m wrong, or that I’m a stubborn prick, or that she loves me.
Talk to her, the nurses say. Let her know you’re here.
I do. Each time I sit with her, when I sleep in the chair beside her bed with my hand clinging to hers, I say it over and over. I tell her I love her and that I need her to wake up. I ask her if she regrets meeting me. I beg her not to leave me. I promise her we’ll go away, far, far, away. I even admit I’ll quit calling her Spidey if she’ll just come back to me.